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Friday, May 18, 2012

Sea Dogs Notebook

TOMORROW

The Shawinigan Cataractes and Edmonton Oil Kings
kicked off the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup on Friday night at Bionest Centre and all eyes will be on the Saint John Sea Dogs and London Knights tomorrow night.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions take on the
Ontario Hockey League champions on Saturday night at 8pm Atlantic. The game can
be seen Sportsnet and heard on News 88.9.

"To be honest with you, with Jonathan, the first two
rounds of the playoffs we played teams that were rebuilding for next season and
we had some lopsided scores," the coach began, "Jonathan's the type
of kid that doesn't want to embarrass people and he's going to play the game
the way it's supposed to be played. He didn't get near as many points as he
could have got in the first round because he didn't need them. In the third and
the fourth round he played very well for us, he's been a good all around
player; he's doing a lot more penalty kill for us than he did last year."

Huberdeau definitely does more than just put up points.

PRESSURE

QMI Agency has an article on the Sea Dogs’ dominance this
season. Are they feeling the pressure heading into the Memorial Cup?

"There's no pressure on anyone," Huberdeau said.
"We just go out and play and have fun. We added (Coyle) there, and he's a
big guy who frees up space for his linemates. Things have been clicking for us
and we're looking to continue that here."

REPEAT

If you haven’t heard, the Sea Dogs are looking to become
just the ninth team in history to win back-to-back Memorial Cups.

"It would be real special and that's our goal, but
it's also the goal for the other three teams," said Sea Dogs associate
coach and director of hockey operations Mike Kelly told the Windsor Star.

"There's no doubt, it's a nice challenge."

Kelly also talks about how he and head coach Gerard Gallant
run things in Saint John, saying they both work with the on- and off-ice stuff.

“Of course, the margin for error in such a short
tournament is always razor-thin so none of that may matter once the action gets
rolling,” writes Palov. “But when I weigh all the elements heading into the
event, I find it hard to come up with an argument for anyone other than Saint
John winning it all.”

“The last time the Quebec league posted back-to-back
winners was with Granby in 1996 and Hull in 1997. In the last 32 years, the Q
has won the title seven times so you can see, it doesn't happen often for this
league,” writes Walling. “The WHL leads with 14 titles and the OHL has had 10
winners in the same timeframe.”

MOORE

The Pictou County newspaper “The News” has an article on
Sea Dogs defenseman Jordan Moore.

“This is way up there in my career moments,” said Moore about the Memorial Cup.
“It’s a little different because I joined the team later, but this is one of
the first major championships I’ve been a part of. I don’t think anything I’ve
ever won in minor hockey compares to the Presidents Cup (QMJHL league
championship).”

Moore played in two regular season games and four playoff
contests with Saint John. He did not record a point.

“It would mean so much … I was drafted here at 15 and
played here right from Day 1,” MacAulay said about the possibility of winning
back-to-back Memorial Cups. “They’ve given me everything I’ve got in my hockey
career and I just want to, myself and the veteran guys, want to say thank you
to the organization for everything they’ve done for us.”